


10 Minutes, Sweetheart

by elizabookworm



Category: Once Upon A Time - Fandom, Once Upon a Time (TV), Rumbelle - Fandom, ouat
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Love, One Shot, belle/mrgold, belle/rumple, relationship, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabookworm/pseuds/elizabookworm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My very first fanfic. Ever. I literally just registered for this site... GOLD. Pure gold. I love it. I've been reading fanfics constantly but made the plunge to register and start uploading my own. </p><p>We've all heard someone say, "I'll be 10 minutes" when in reality they take much, much longer. Rumple leaves Belle in charge of the store and although she gets lost in her world of books, Rumple is gone for longer than 10 minutes. When he returns it is all the fluff! I really hope you like it, if anyone reads it. There is really no storyline or plot... It's just so nice and fluffy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	10 Minutes, Sweetheart

Belle was engulfed in her book and oblivious to the world around her, as per usual. She was only supposed to be minding the shop for ‘10 minutes’, he said, ‘Sweetheart, I’ll be no more than 10 minutes’ she mimicked in her head. He knew he had her at sweetheart and she knew that she would never refuse him anything, well, unless it had a consequence which she might find enjoyable…

With her eyes firmly cast on the discoloured pages of the old beaten leather blue book, she hadn’t heard the bell above the shop door ring. The tall, slim figure stood bemused, staring at the gorgeous woman in front of him. Not wanting to pull the red headed beauty from the idyllic world she was currently ensconced in, he stood in silence, watching with awe as her facial expressions changed quicker than the Scottish weather.

“Are you enjoying that dearie?” Rumple asked, amused, trying to hide the defiant grin that was sneaking its way across his face.

“Rum, you startled me. I didn’t even hear you co –“ Before she had time to finish her sentence, she found him peering over her shoulder with curiosity. For a man with a walking stick, he could move shockingly quickly, “co-me in” finishing her sentence.

“Thank goodness we weren’t burgled. They could have raided the shop. My clothes and all. My arse would have been as bare as this shop, dearie…” he bet the missing underwear would have been more of an issue to the town than the priceless antiques.

Belle laughed at his crude remarks but was still very much in a world of her own, “Where were you, I thought you were only going to be 10 minutes?” She wasn’t angry with him for being gone longer than he said. If anything, she was relieved that he was okay. He was about to answer her question when he caught sight of what she was holding. He studied the object that gripped her attentions.

“Again? Will you ever put that old battered book down? I still cannot believe you fished that out of the bin, Belle. Any other person would have just left it in there... but then again, my wife is most definitely not just anyone.” She couldn’t help but smile, turning her head to the direction of the ceiling, knowing full well that her sparkling blue eyes would be greeted by her husband’s gorgeously deep golden brown ones.

In doing so, he believed it to be the opportune moment to plant a soft kiss on his wife’s forehead. The warmth of his subtle touch made her heart and eyes flutter with joy. She had missed him. He missed her just as much. He was only gone 40 minutes… granted he was only supposed to be gone ten.

“Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘One man’s trash is another’s treasure’? And besides, I happen to love this book. The cover may look battered and bruised but the pages are where the real magic happens…” His lips were still pressed to her forehead and she felt him smiling against her skin, unsure of whether it was because of what she just said or because her curly red hair was tickling under his chin from the angle. Or both.

She wasn’t sure if she was talking about the book or her husband at this point in the conversation. Sure, she thought, he had a hardened exterior with no shortage of scuff marks and wounds, even some of the pages were torn, but just like the book, he was beautiful inside and out, and she loved him more than words could describe, regardless of other people’s opinions. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover and at that thought, she was overwhelmed by emotion as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Belle, Sweetheart, are you okay? Darlin’, what’s the matter?” he said as his thumb gently brushed over her now-glistening cheek. With the lack of response, he shifted himself around her, albeit awkwardly as he narrowly avoided tripping over his own cane – and his own feet, until he was facing her at eye level. The crouching could not be good for his rickety oul’ knees, he thought to himself. "It’ll be fun having to get up in a wee minute."

“I’m just being silly. It’s the book… well, not just what’s in the book but everything about it. That conversation just now… It reminded me of...” Her soft voice was so fragile that it almost shattered as her words trailed off.

“Me? of us?” Rumple completed his wife’s sentence, proving just how right they were for one another. Seemingly insignificant but on a deeper level it represented how they were there for one another. The fact that she was so moved made his heart ache. How was it possible to love anyone this much, in any world or realm? She was his everything. He could never comprehend how Belle could love something as broken and battered as him but she did, without fail. And she always would.

He could feel his chest swell and in doing so, he leaned towards his wife and pulled her in an embrace as tight as he could muster without hurting her. Just then, the world felt right. Belle nudged her head into Rumple’s neck, his collar rubbing up against her nose. His smell comforted her, it always did. She smiled and he could feel it but he didn’t want to move from the blissful position that he was in with his wife, despite the pain in the arse that it would be to stand up with his knees when they were finally done.

Belle revealed the source of amusement and said, “To think, you were only gone 40 minutes. What will I be like if you are ever gone for an hour? Wait until we are married for a few years, bet we won’t always be so happy to see one another” as she laughed into his neck.

“Ah now, now Mrs Gold. I don’t think I could stay away from you any longer than an hour, even 10 years down the line, and I will bet that you still can’t keep those pretty hands off me either…” earning him a playful jab to the chest.  


No clichés. It was just them. Always.

 

* And we are done! I hope you guys enjoyed. I have another story brewing at the minute. Please do drop me a line. I'd really love to know what you think and whether I should write more!


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